Furnace.



W. N. BEST.

FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 55. 1914.

1,140,732. Patented May 25, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

WITNESSES W M/l/E/VTOR ZzQ/"KZW 0/7 M/M aw/ W A TTOR/VEY THE NORRIS PEYERE- C0,, PHOTOLITHO.. WASHINGTON u c.

W. N. BEST.

FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. 19M.

1,140,732. Patented May 25, 1915.

F g m WITNESSES i ATTORNEY THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO-LITHQ. wASHlNGmN. D. C.

W. N. BEST.

FURNACE. H 9 APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. l

I Patented May 25, 1915. 1,140,732.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

'IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII IIII III III IIII IIIII IN VEIVTOR WWW WM W A TTORNEY WITNESSES:

WILLIAM 1v. BEST, or NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR or ONE-THIRD T0 EDGAR s.

HAMMOND, or WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.

FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Application filed. February 5, 1914. Serial No. 816,691.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM N. Bns'r,-a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

Ordinarily in burning certain fuels including bituminous coal, the air is admitted below the grate or other fuel support. At certain times when a heavy volume of coal is charged into the furnace, the air to support combustion must pass upwardly through the cinder, ashes and fire-bed before reaching the fresh fuel, and the resistance to the passage of air is such that an inadequate supply reaches the fresh fuel. The latter being subjected to a high temperature in the presence of an insuflicient supply of oxygen, is partly distilled, and the gases and other volatile combustible products are driven off and escape up the stack without having been burned, and thus without aiding in the desired heating effect. This obviously results in the uneconomical utilization of the fuel. If provision be made for the constant admission of air above the fire-bed in order that these gases and other volatile combustible products may be properly consumed, such air will act to check and cool the fire after the distilling action following the addition of fresh fuel, terminates.

The object of my invention is to provide improved means for the admission and distribution of the air and more particularly improved means for effectively controlling the quantity of air admitted, so that the proper amount may be secured at all times dependent upon the condition of the fire, depth of the fuel bed, and nature of the fuel.

By means of my invention I am able to secure the proper combustion and utilization of the gases, and at the same time prevent any cooling or checking of the fire. I secure an increase of temperature in the fire box, the quicker consumption of the coal,

increase the steam generating capacity of the boiler and reduce or eliminate smoke.

My invention may be employed in connection with various different types of furnaces and particularly with those in which there is a large fire bed, such as is commonly used for heating boilers.

The invention may be utilized in connection with stationary boilers or locomotives, and the air admitted may be forced in either by a jet of fluid under pressure or by high boiler room air pressure, such as is often employed on board ship.

Certain features of my invention relate particularly to the preferred form in which a jet of steam or other fluid under pressure is employed to force any air from the surrounding atmosphere.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several. views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a locomotive fire-box, embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an end view, the left half being in elevation and the right half being in section on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of opposite side portions and on a somewhat larger scale; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through the center of an air inlet tube, certain of the parts being shown in top plan; Fig. 7 is an elevation of the inner end of the air inlet tube; Fig. 8 is a transverse section on the line 88 of Fig. 5; Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section through a stationary boiler embodying my invention; Fig. 10 is a portion of a horizontal section through the air inlet; Fig. 11 is a portion of an end view, a part being in section through one of the air inlets; Fig. 12 is a prospective view of one of the inlet tube sections employed in the forms shown in Figs. 9 to 11 inclusive; and Fig. 13 is a perspective of another one of said sections.

In Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention as applied to a locomotive boiler having side walls made up of spaced plates 20 and 21. Through these walls I extend air tubes 22 which may be secured in place in various different ways, but preferably the ends are beaded over into engagement with the sur faces of the plates, so that they are held in substantially the same way as the flues in width of the fire box to which they are attached and in accordance with the normal character of the fuel employed. In addition to mounting them along the opposite sides I may also mount them across the ends of the fire box. lVithin each of these tubes I mount a jet nozzle 24 directed lengthwise thereof and having a terminal elongated slot 25 through which a flat sprayof steam or compressed air may be delivered. The form of this slot 25 is shown on a very small scale in Fig. 7 but it corresponds in shape to the opening 33 shown in Fig. 7 and is also of the same general shape as the opening in the block 53 shown in Fig. 12. All of these nozzles are connected by suitable branch pipes 26 to a supply conduit 27 extending along the side of the boiler and the two supply conduits may be connected to a conduit 28 extending across the end and receiving the steam or compressed air from a supply pipe 29.

Within each air tube 22 there is mounted a nozzle member 30, fitting substantially friction tight and having a spider portion 31 threaded on to or otherwise rigidly secured to the spray nozzle 24. Spaced from this spider portion 31 and from the outlet of the spray nozzle there is a transverse wall 32 having a horizontally extending slot 33 v preferably of substantially the form shown in Fig. 7. The slot is of considerably greater width and length than the slot 25 in the end of the spray nozzle and is of somewhat greater width adjacent its ends than at the center portion. The jet nozzle is directed toward this slot or outlet 33 and the compressed air or steam escaping from the nozzle member 24 forces atmospheric air through the outlet 33 into the fire box. As the main force of the jet is greater at the center portion of the slot 32 than at the sides the said slot may be made narrower at the center and a uniform delivery of air secured along the full length of the slot.

For controlling the admission of air to the air tubes .22 I preferably provide two bars 34 and 35, extending lengthwise of the boiler adjacent the outer ends of the corre sponding row of air tubes. These bars are connected together by links 36, which latter are mounted intermediate of their ends on stud bolts 37 connected to the boiler wall. lVhen inclined as shown in Fig. 4, these links bring the two bars together, while by swinging the links toward a vertical position the bars will be spaced apart, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. The bars by coming closely adjacent to the outer ends of the air tubes serve to. close the latter when in the position indicated in Figs. 4 and 5. The bars in their contacting edges have recesses 38 as shown in Fig. 4,:which'receive the nozzle tubes 24 and make a subst.ntially close fit therewith.

If desired the air tubes may have small collars 39 as shown particularly in Fig. 5 and which will prevent the admission of any appreciable quantity of air through the recesses 38. V

For operating the air inlet controlling members a rock shaft 39 may extend across the front of the boiler and rigidly connect with the two terminal links 36. The rock shaft may have an operating lever 40 with a spring pawl 41 engaging with acurved notched segment 42. By swinging the lever 42 all of the air tubes may be opened or closed simultaneously or any desired limited amount of air admitted. The engineer only needs to operate a valve in the steam or compressed air supply pipe 29, and the lever 40, to regulate the admission of the air, and to control the fire in accordance with the character of the fuel and the temperature desired.

As the frequent adjustment of the air inlet controlling members 34 and 35 would produce friction on the outer beaded ends of the tubes 22, I may insert a spacing collar 43, which may have an outer annular flange 44 against which the air inlet controlling members 34 and 35 may slide. This collar may have an annular groove receiving the bead on the corresponding air tube, and the entire outer flange may be tilted or otherwise formed in accordance with the angle or shape of the outer boiler wall plate 21. As these collars become worn by the sliding or adjusting of the members '34 and 35, or by the friction due to vibration of the locomotive, they may be readily removed and replaced by new ones.

In applying my invention to stationary or marine boilers, I may employ a slightly different form of construction. In Figs. 9 to 13 inclusive I have illustrated a form which my invention may assume for such use. Here the side wall 50 of the furnace may be formed of brick or other suitable material, and may have incorporated therein metal tube sections of such size and shape as to form an integral part of the wall and to provide for awide uniform air distribution. These air inlet tube sections should be disposed at the proper distance above the grate 51, so as to come at the proper distance above the top of the fire-bed. In fact, they may be substantially level with the top of the bridge 52. As shown each air inlet may be of three blocksor sections instead of a single tube, and these may be rectangular in vertical section. The sections may be spaced apart end-wise as it is'not essential that they be continuous. In the particular form shown I employ three sections, 53, 54 and 55, each havingsubstantially straight outer faces at the tops and ends, so as to facilitate the proper incorporation in the brick work. The outer sections 55 may be substantially as shown in Fig. 13, and may have a peripheral flange 56 adapted to engage with the outer surface of the brick work, and provide a face corresponding to the face of the flange 44, employed in the form previously described. With an elongated passage through the section 55, when the passage through the section 55 is of considerable length, I may preferably employ separate spacing blocks or pins 57 for additionally supporting the top wall of the tube section. The middle section 54 may be the same as the section 55, except that the face flange is omitted. The innermost section 53 may be similar to the section 54, although preferably the top wall 58 thereof is of greater thickness at the middle than at the ends, so that the opening through the section is ofgreater height at the ends than at the middle. This section may also have the spacing pins or blocks 57 The three sections are arranged in alinement as is shown particularly in Figs. 10 and 11, and a compressed air or steam nozzle 59 extends through the three sections and terminates in a jet within the innermost section. 53. By delivering compressed air or steam through this nozzle atmospheric air is forced in through the tube sections and delivered to the fire-box in a flat widely distributed sheet, above the fire, so as to com bine with the unburned gases arising from the fuel bed.

Upon the outer surface of the furnace and closely adjacent to the flange 56 are two relatively movable air regulating bars 34 and 35, corresponding in every particular with those shown in Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive. These sections are connected by links 36 and are operated by a lever the same as that heretofore shown, or they may be operated in any other suitable manner to insure the simultaneous movement of the two bars toward and from each other and preferably the simultaneous movement of the bars on both sides of the furnace.

Various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts within the scope of the appended claims and without departing from the spirit of my invention and the forms illustrated or similar forms may be applied to other furnaces than those illustrated.

Although I preferably use a jet of steam or compressed air to effect the introduction of air through the air inlets, it is evident that under certain circumstances this jet may be omitted and the entrance of air eifected by the difference in pressure upon the interior and exterior of the boiler. The draft due to a tall stack may be suflicient to eflect the introduction of the air or in marine practice the air pressure in the boiler arm may effect the desired result. The air inlet tube shown in sheet 3 of the drawings may be made of one continuous casting instead of in sections,

but by making it in sections I may better facilitate the installation in constructions of varying wall thickness. A greater or lesser number of sections may be employed and they may be spaced to greater or lesser extenlt1 depending upon the thickness of the wa Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is:

1. A furnace having a series of air inlet passages through the wall thereof from the atmosphere to the fire box above the fire bed, a tube extending into each inlet and adapted to deliver a jet of aeri-form fluid through said inlet to induce the entrance of air to said fire box from the atmosphere, two members disposed adjacent opposite sides of said tubes for covering the outer ends of said passages and each having a series of notches adapted to receive said tubes, a plurality of links each pivotally supported intermediate of its ends and each having its opposite ends connected to said members, and means for simultaneously swinging said links to move said members toward and from each other.

2. A furnace having air inlet passages through the opposite walls thereof from the atmosphere to the fire box above the fire bed, a tube extending into each of said passages for delivering a jet of aeri-form fluid through the passage to induce the entrance of air to said fire box from the atmosphere, a pair of bars disposed along each side of the furnace, one bar of each pair being disposed above the corresponding tube, and the other disposed below, links pivotally supported intermediate of their ends and having their opposite ends connected to said bars, and a single handle for swinging the links at both sides of said furnace for simultaneously bringing together or separating the two bars of each pair and closing or opening said passages.

3. A furnace having an air inlet through the wall thereof from the atmosphere to the fire box above the fire bed, said inlet being oblong in shape and of greater height at its ends than at the intermediate portion, and a jet directed toward the center portion of said inlet and having a delivery opening oblong in form and of greater height at its ends than at the intermediate portion.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York this 30th day of January A. D. 1914.

WILLIAM N. BEST.

Witnesses:

E. COLTRAN, FLORENCE LEVIEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

